Dod Analyst Expected To Cooperate Against Israel
Middleast Newsline - January 22, 2006
J4JP Prefacing Note:
Larry Franklin's 12 year sentence is a simply the short leash that the US Government is using to assure Franklin's cooperation in testifying against AIPAC and the two former AIPAC officials who were indicted in the affair.
A variety of news sources, including Middle East Newsline (copy below) state that it is expected that Franklin's sentence will be significantly reduced AFTER he testifies against the 2 Jews, Rosen and Weissman. Franklin's 12 year sentence gives the appearance that the government was "even-handed in its treatment of Franklin as opposed to the other two who are Jews. Nevertheless, the 12 year sentence was only imposed to keep Franklin "motivated" in his cooperation with the government against Rosen and Weissman.
The Franklin case remains a witch hunt against Jews, driven by the same obcessive anti-Semitism in the intelligence community that Jonathan Pollard was a victim of. This obcessive pursuit of Jews will continue as long as those elements in the intelligence community who have no use for the US - Israel special relationship are permitted to continue to use Jonathan as the excuse (not the reason, but the excuse) for continuing to do so. As long as Israel and the American Jewish Community continue to ignore Jonathan's plight as if it has nothing to do with them, the more the anti-Semites will continue to exploit it, to the detriment of Israel and the US Jews.
WASHINGTON [MENL] -- A Defense Department analyst was expected to serve as a leading federal witness in the trial of two pro-Israeli lobbyists.
Government sources said Lawrence Franklin has been cooperating with the FBI in its effort to assess data he relayed to Israel and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. On Jan. 20, Franklin was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison for relaying classified information to two AIPAC analysts.
Franklin, 59, also pleaded guilty to sharing classified information with an Israeli diplomat. A senior analyst in the office of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Franklin was said to have disclosed U.S. assessments concerning Iran and Iraq from 2002 through 2004.
U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis said Franklin would remain free until he finished cooperating with the prosecution. Ellis, terming the case "odd," said Franklin acted out of concern for national security.
"You thought that the only way to bring this problem to the NSC was with this secureless method," Ellis told Franklin. "Once the information gets into unauthorized hands, who knows where it goes? Who knows where it travels?"
The sources said Franklin, who in October 2005 pleaded guilty, has been meeting FBI investigators and prosecutors on a weekly basis to prepare for the trial of the two former AIPAC staffers, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman. Their trial was scheduled to begin on April 25.
Franklin's sentence could be significantly reduced after the trial of Rosen and Weissman, who pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to communicate national defense information, the sources said. They said Franklin has also provided the FBI with data he shared with an Israeli diplomat.
The FBI has sought to interrogate the Israeli diplomat, identified as Naor Gilon, who in 2005 returned to Israel. The sources said federal investigators also sought to question two other Israeli diplomats. So far, Israel has refused the FBI request.
Franklin admitted to meeting Gilon nine times from 2002 through 2005. The former Pentagon analyst said he gave Gilon classified information.